


Will-o-Wisp

by MudaMuda



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Blood, Humanverse, Kitsune, M/M, Meiji Era, Violence, ameripan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-20 19:01:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17028240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MudaMuda/pseuds/MudaMuda
Summary: While stationed in Japan, Admiral Alfred Jones gets lost in the forest at night. His chance encounter with a refined and seductive stranger turns into something deadly.





	Will-o-Wisp

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to have been finished around Halloween so I could have some spooky content on my Ao3, but I’m bad at getting things done, so Happy Holidays instead!  
> This is set during the time of the Black Ships but not quite the Meiji era (like 1855-ish), which is relevant to the plot, but not very obvious in the story.  
> The very talented Mochis betaed this a long time ago and drew some fantastic art for it: https://www.instagram.com/p/Boz7Aa9Hynk/

The leaves crunched behind Alfred.

When he whirled, trying to locate the source of the noise, there was nothing there. The rural Japanese forest continued to look the same in every direction. 

Alfred strained, listening for a noise again. His eyes were adjusting to the dusk, but it was still too dark to see clearly. The locals had warned him about bandits, but curiosity had brought him out of his crew’s lodgings to the forest, and he was beginning to wonder if was worth getting robbed to have gotten away from his stuffy comrades for an hour.

A branch snapped, in front of him this time, and his hand went to his gun, strapped to his belt. 

As he squinted, attuning his eyes to the dark shapes of of the forest moving in front of him, he made out one that did not match the rest.

It was a man, wearing a dark purple kimono that blended with the fading light on the horizon. He was bent double, putting something in a basket.

Alfred’s unease dissolved. He was grateful to see him, anyone, out in the forest this late in the evening, off the path. 

“Excuse me. Could you give me directions?” he asked, hurrying up to him. At the sound of his voice, the figure straightened.

Alfred’s tongue tripped up when he saw his face.

Even in the near-darkness, he was startlingly handsome, with a pale, small face and glittering black eyes. 

Even the forest held its breath, going still and silent along with Alfred. 

“Are you lost?” the man responded. Alfred took a moment to answer, in his surprise.

“Admittedly…” he said, trying to calm his racing heart.

The stranger turned his nose up at him. “It’s dangerous to wander alone in the forest this late.”

Alfred patted his hip, where his holster was strapped. “I have my protection against robbers.”

“Not robbers. Monsters. This is the time of night when you encounter  _ yokai,”  _ said the man.

Alfred wasn’t above believing in a bit of superstition, whether Japanese or American. But the stranger said it with such startling conviction that Alfred found it humorous. Maybe if he wasn’t as pretty, he would have laughed at him. 

“Why are  _ you  _ out here alone?” he asked, instead.

“Gathering,” the man said, reaching down into his basket and presenting a handful of tawny, flat-topped mushrooms.

Alfred squinted at the fungi he was carrying.

“You know, those are poisonous,” he said.

The man blinked at him. His mouth opened slightly. 

“Oh,” he said, frowning like it had never occurred to him. “Is that so?”

Alfred raised an eyebrow. “Looks like you could be in more danger than me, mister…?”

“My name is Kiku,” the man said, his eyes roaming Alfred’s figure like he was trying to divine some kind of knowledge. They settled on his face, looking with implacable scrutiny.

After a moment, he took up the basket.

“Well. There must be a use for them. I wouldn’t want to waste them, after I’ve gone to the trouble to pick them.”

He bowed humbly. “I am  _ ever  _ so grateful, sir.”

“Alfred. You can call me that, or Admiral Jones. But I prefer Alfred.”

“Admiral…” repeated Kiku. “Are you proud of that title?”

Alfred puffed out his chest. “It’s something to show off.”

“I’m afraid it doesn’t mean much to someone like me,” said Kiku disinterestedly.

Alfred was about to respond with something indignant about why he should care, when Kiku tripped over a root, stumbling up against him.

“Careful,” said Alfred, catching him by the arm and righting him.

“Oh,” said Kiku. “I promise I am not always this useless. I must seem very pitiable to you.”

Alfred shook his head, moved by the sudden contact, and by the demure look Kiku was giving him. 

“You’re beautiful,” he said earnestly.

“What a thing to say.”

“I mean it. You have the prettiest face of anyone I’ve seen since I came to Japan.”

“How kind of you to say so,” said Kiku neutrally. He was probably used to those types of compliments. 

It made Alfred itch to find something to say to make him smile.

“It’s dark. I’ll walk you home first,” he offered, touching Kiku’s forearm.

“That is kind,” said Kiku again.

“Just show me the way, and I’ll keep you safe from the monsters. You know, the ones you were warning me about?”

“And how will  _ you  _ find your way back?” asked Kiku, toying with a brass button on Alfred’s jacket cuff. 

“I’ll manage,” Alfred muttered, not eager to wander back through the forest in the dark.

Kiku’s eyes sparkled. 

“Please stay for a meal. It gets a bit lonely on my own,” he offered.

“A meal?” asked Alfred.

“To show my appreciation, for saving me from something terribly unpleasant,” Kiku said, eyeing the mushrooms with distrust. 

Alfred eyed  _ him  _ with distrust, not sure if they would be eating something potentially lethal for dinner.

“Ah! Do not worry,” said Kiku, probably sensing his hesitance. “I do not cook the meals. My servants do.”

He touched Alfred on the arm, and gestured towards a split in the trees that Alfred swore hadn’t been there earlier. 

Alfred followed without hesitation. He trailed Kiku along the path, looking forward to seeing his pretty face in better light. 

 

After they had walked a short time, Alfred could smell something incredible from deeper in the forest: food.

As they walked towards the source, an equally incredible manor appeared from out of a large clearing, lit radiantly, throwing cheerful light across the forest. The building itself was one level, but the rooms and walkways stretched further than Alfred could see. 

The front door was ajar, and the aroma of food trailed from the opening.

“You said you lived alone, right? Aside from the servants, I mean?” asked Alfred, wondering if it wasn’t a prince he had inadvertently met, instead of a poor bachelor like he had suspected.

But Kiku was a few paces ahead, and hadn’t heard him, it seemed. He pushed the sliding door open completely, the wood swishing in its track. Alfred followed him over the threshold.

The inside of the manor was neat, and lit as brightly as if it were day with paper lanterns. 

Though the decor was impressive, the table in the center of the room was the main attraction. A banquet was laid out: bottles of sake, plates piled with fish and vegetables, a steaming kettle of rice in the center, and an entire trout on a platter as the centerpiece. 

Steam rose from the food, oil on the crispy fish sizzling and bubbling, as if it had just been cooked. 

It was far more than Kiku could eat on his own, and it was set out like he had been expecting someone. In fact, glazed bowls painted with fanciful ukiyo e scenes and gold-tipped chopsticks were arranged in exactly two settings on the table. Alfred wondered about that.

Kiku, however, slid off his shoes and tiptoed over the mats like nothing was unusual.

He took a seat on a square cushion on the floor, and beckoned Alfred over to sit by him. He handed him a small cup. When Alfred kneeled beside him, Kiku poured him sake from the largest bottle on the table.

“You know,” said Kiku, in a murmur under the cheerful bubbling of sake out of the bottle. “There have been more and more foreigners here lately.”

Everything he said was neutral in tone, but he had a silvery voice. Like breeze through a windchime. It softened the blunt statement. At least, Alfred thought it would be confrontational, coming from anyone else. Kiku just seemed to be making conversation.

“You think it’s a good thing?” asked Alfred carefully.

“I cannot say one way or the other,” said Kiku. He smiled, tilting up the bottle. “You, at least, have a charming face.”

Alfred smirked. “I’ve been told I’m handsome.”

“Your looks could get you into trouble.”

“ _ Am _ I in trouble?”

Kiku laughed. Alfred caught a flash of his teeth before he hid his mouth behind his sleeve. His canines were unusually pointed.

“Ah, you really are charming. I told you, I only want a companion for this meal.”

Alfred raised an eyebrow at him. Strange as he was, Kiku was undoubtedly beautiful. 

And coy. And eager to appreciate him.

He quickly swallowed his sake, and Kiku was back at his elbow with the bottle, refilling his cup as soon as he lowered it.

“Where did all this come from? Do you live alone?” Alfred asked again.

This time, Kiku deliberately ignored the question. He put down the sake and took up a piece of salmon between his chopsticks. Alfred thought that was his cue to begin eating, and reached for the other pair on the table. 

Kiku placed a delicate hand over his, and shook his head. 

He held the fish to Alfred’s mouth, offering it.

“Please,” he said softly. Longingly. His voice dripping with honey and wine.

Alfred couldn’t resist. He took a bite.

Kiku smiled expectantly.

Alfred licked his lips. The fish was savory and rich. He realized he was starving. The taste made him want to lick the entire plate. 

“More?” asked Kiku, picking up another piece. 

No matter what the food was, Alfred conceded that he would happily eat every bit of it, if Kiku was the one feeding him.

“This is more of the reception I expected when I got to Japan,” said Alfred. “Beautiful company and amazing food.”

“Oh? Is it to your liking?”

“It’s the best I’ve had since we landed at port,” said Alfred, with absolute conviction. 

“What a gracious compliment,” said Kiku, turning his eyes down and hiding his mouth behind his sleeve.

It was an unusually feminine gesture that Alfred found to be seductive, whether or not it was meant to be.

Kiku’s whole presence was hypnotic, his lithe body stretching in practiced movements back and forth from the table to Alfred.

His long, dusk-colored sleeves draped over his lap. When he reached across the table, he pulled back his sleeve to keep it from dipping in the food. 

When he offered a bite to Alfred, the dropped the sleeve, and the silk brushed Alfred’s knee in a saucy, indirect caress.

Alfred was bursting with flirtatious compliments, but Kiku barely let him speak. He kept his mouth stuffed, giving him an inscrutable little smile as he fed him. Eventually, Alfred stopped trying to please him, content to watch him bend over the table to fetch bits of food. The variety was amazing, and everything tasted so delicious it was almost unreal. He had to restrain himself from jumping forward and gobbling whatever was at the end of the chopsticks, rather than going at Kiku’s leisurely pace. 

Halfway through a dish of yams, it occurred to him that Kiku hadn’t had even a taste.

“You’re not hungry?” he managed, around the mouthful of food.

Kiku shook his head, the side of his mouth curling conspiratorially.

Alfred moved the chopsticks aside with a finger before Kiku could feed him another bite. 

“No, no. It’s your turn now. You’ve been so hospitable, I can’t let you go hungry.”

This was a half-truth. While Alfred was truly concerned about Kiku not eating his share of the meal, he could not ignore the sneaking suspicion that something was odd about Kiku. How could he have all this food and not eat it?

Without question, Kiku was up to something. Alfred hoped he was just eager to finish the meal so he could go to bed. Preferably with him. He’d been giving him eyes practically since they’d met, but Alfred wasn’t sure if they meant what he hoped they did.

Kiku didn’t protest, however, when Alfred took the other pair of chopsticks from the table, and fed him some fried tofu. Kiku took the food in his mouth, then chewed and swallowed with a polite delicacy.

Then he hummed with pleasure, running his tongue over his lips in a  _ much  _ less polite way.

“That’s my  _ favorite _ ,” he purred. “How did you know?”

“I, uh. That’s good,” said Alfred, trying not to stare. “I didn’t.”

 

Over the course of the meal, the lanterns burned lower, casting the room in a hazy, intimate glow.

Outside, the moon had disappeared behind the clouds. The forest was pitch black, and shadows fell over the engawa. A cool breeze swept in, making the flames in the rice paper lanterns flutter, throwing shadows across the floor. 

Kiku’s face was gentle in the soft glow of the lanterns, as he curled up next to Alfred.

Alfred was full and content, and emboldened by the sake. Now was as good a time as ever to make his move.

Despite the intimacy, Kiku looked a little tentative, like he wanted to ask him something.

“What’s on your mind?’ asked Alfred.

“Well. That is…” murmured Kiku. 

“If you want something from me, you’ve got to ask,” Alfred teased.

Kiku gave him a shy glance.

“Would you stay the night?” he asked, cuddling so close he was nearly sitting on his lap. “I’m… a bit frightened of sleeping here alone.”

_ Frightened of what?  _ wondered Alfred, but couldn’t bring himself to care much, when Kiku’s arms were pulled tight around his shoulders, and his face was buried meekly in his neck.

“I said I’d protect you,” said Alfred instead. 

He felt Kiku smile against his neck, then turn his chin up to whisper into his ear.

“In that case,” he said, lips brushing Alfred’s earlobe with each word, “would it be too much trouble to ask you to hold me in your arms tonight… and comfort me?”

Alfred would have had to be crazy to refuse an offer like that.

“You can rest easy,” drawled Alfred, lowering his hands to the bow of Kiku’s sash. “You’ve got a big, strong man here to keep you safe.”

But as soon as he loosened one end, Kiku’s hands abruptly clasped over his. 

“I will prepare a futon,” Kiku whispered, peeking up at him. “One in a more private room.”

He uncurled his arms from around Alfred’s neck, stood, and walked away.

Alfred shrugged. Apparently he had misconstrued Kiku’s intent to make bawdy love on his dining room floor. Despite his seductiveness, Kiku might be a traditionalist at heart— modest, shy, and not sexually adventurous.

If that were the case, Kiku was still going to be cute to sleep with. Alfred fantasized about how it would happen: Kiku kneeling on the futon like a virgin bride, bashfully letting Alfred undress him, piece by piece.

Yet there was an element of Kiku’s personality that evaded Alfred. That mysterious air of his indicated a troublesome part of him; quite the opposite of a blushing bride. Thinking about how a mischievous Kiku might prefer to make love made him hot under the collar. Alfred briefly entertained the idea of following him, pinning him to the wall, and doing as he pleased with him, just to see if Kiku would allow it. 

As Kiku neared the exit of the room, his shadow slid up the wall behind him. It was elongated, getting shorter as he got closer to the wall. Something about it caught Alfred’s eye, pulling him from his thoughts. 

It was at this moment that he realized something wasn’t right about Kiku. 

As Kiku’s shadow slid into shape, Alfred saw that it wasn’t one of a man. It was smaller, sleek and elongated, with pointed ears and a bushy tail.

At first, Alfred thought he was imagining it. Something else must be casting it. Maybe a few objects had caught the light to create the illusion on the wall. But it was unmistakable. 

The shadow was warped and stretched fantastically in the flickering lantern light, but it was an animal, walking on all fours in time with Kiku’s movements. Alfred’s mouth went dry. Just before Kiku left the room, he stopped him.

“Why is your shadow like that?” he asked.

Kiku paused. Then he turned, and his eyes glimmered with interest.

“Like what?”

Alfred nodded at the wall behind him, indicating that Kiku should take a look at the impossible shadow, but he didn’t. Kiku stared into his eyes with a piercing intensity. The shadow’s tail bobbed.

Kiku’s remark about forest monsters crept into Alfred’s head. Something about this situation made him feel he should get out quickly. His sense of danger briefly overrode his libido, and he felt a sensation like being a fly in a spiderweb. 

“What are you?” asked Alfred, glaring with distrust. 

In a flash, Kiku darted for the open door. 

Alfred lunged, and caught the knot of Kiku’s obi, dragging him back. Probably not expecting to be caught, Kiku stared at him, eyes wide, mouth parted.

“I thought this situation was strange, but I never thought my host would be such a liar,” said Alfred. “I don’t know how you’re doing that, but you’re not getting away that easily.”

Kiku struggled anyway. Alfred held him still.

“Tell me what I want to know, or I’ll pull off your sash,” he threatened.

Twin splotches of color appeared on Kiku’s cheeks. He shot him a disdainful glare from behind his sleeve.

“So you’re not denying anything,” said Alfred. “Why is your shadow like that?”

When he received no answer, he gave his obi a warning tug, and Kiku’s hands shot down over his. 

“You don’t want me taking this off,” said Alfred. “I thought you wanted to sleep with me. Was that a lie? Why were you seducing me?”

Kiku stubbornly ignored him, so Alfred kept pulling, until finally Kiku gasped, “This is a lewd way to initiate that sort of thing!”

“So you’re just shy, then? Is that why you ran away? Like a skittish little fox?”

And Alfred yanked the sash harder. 

“How dare you! If you know that is what I am, let me go!” cried Kiku, as the sash loosened with the force of each tug. 

“I want to see if you’re hiding a tail under this.”

“You awful pervert! You’ve already caught me!” 

Against Kiku’s protests, Alfred continued unravelling the sash, pulling it hand over hand, as it slipped through Kiku’s weaker grasp, growing shorter around his waist. 

No match for Alfred’s brute strength, Kiku was pulled directly up against him, his breath leaving him in a gasp as their bodies pressed together. 

Alfred held him around the waist, to prevent him from darting away, and kept undoing the obi, to Kiku’s displeasure. 

He fought Alfred stubbornly, even though he had no hope of escaping. 

With one last pull, Alfred tore off the sash. 

Kiku’s breath hitched, and he gripped Alfred’s shoulders.

Then, as if by magic, a pair of pointed, white ears sprouted from the top of his head. A snow white tail joined the transformation, full and luxurious, curling from beneath his kimono. 

Alfred took a step back to admire him.

Kiku quivered in anger, mouth pinched into a scowl. His tail drooped between his legs, his ears flattened.

Alfred realized the sash was warm. At first he thought it was because Kiku had been wearing it against his body, and that was partially true, but the warmth radiated more strongly from one spot.

There was a hard lump in the sash, from where the heat emanated. He pulled it out.

It was a little incandescent ball, perfectly round like a pearl. It was brilliant white, and warm to touch. He held it close to his face. Inside, it seemed to hold swirling fire.

“What is this?” he asked Kiku, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger.

“It’s mine.”

“I figured. Tell me what it is.”

“It is worthless in your hands.”

“What happens if I hold onto it?”

“I’ll be quite upset with you.”

“Really.”

Alfred pocketed the ball.

Kiku’s face was impassive, but the shadow in the waning moonlight bristled, baring its teeth.

“So you really are a fox?” asked Alfred.

Kiku sighed. “Is it so hard to believe?”

Alfred still wasn’t sure whether he believed it. Ears and tail aside, it was definitely a grand confession. 

“How?” he asked.

Kiku’s nose wrinkled. “What do you mean, “how?” That is what I am. This is my human disguise.”

“Why did you do all this for me?” asked Alfred, gesturing at the lavish banquet. “What do you want with me? 

Kiku brushed a strand of his dark hair into place. 

“You’re a bit handsome,” he murmured. “I just wanted some company. Foxes get lonely too, sometimes.”

“Why did you run?”

Kiku hid his face. 

”Well… I thought my chances had been ruined when you discovered I’m not a human in truth… and then I became flustered when you undressed me… but the truth is… ah, it’s a bit embarrassing to say plainly…”

Kiku glanced up at him through his eyelashes.

“I really just wanted to sleep with you. It’s winter, you know. I’m  _ ever  _ so eager to mate. Even if my intentions aren’t pure, you wouldn’t have had to know. Tell me I haven’t lost your interest?”

“Well…”

Alfred’s arousal was far from stifled, even if he was surprised at the impossibility of Kiku’s fox characteristics. 

Seeing his hesitance, Kiku freed one smooth shoulder from his kimono and placed Alfred’s hand on it.

“My body is mostly human now, isn’t it?” he asked.

He tilted his chin up, imploring. 

“Won’t you kiss me?”

Despite sense urging him otherwise, Alfred didn’t resist when Kiku’s lips met his. 

Alfred didn’t know what reason foxes would have to kiss, or if they even could, yet Kiku was good at it. If he really were a fox, he must do this in a human disguise with lots of other men. The twinge of jealousy that rose in Alfred was suppressed just as quickly by the smoothness of Kiku’s tongue against his own. 

Except for where his left hand was, on his groin, stroking circles as he kissed him, Kiku had a very light touch. 

Alfred didn’t realize he had taken the ball from his pocket until the lights of the manor went out. 

Kiku pulled away with the swiftness of a shadow. 

In the dark haze of the snuffed lanterns, the edges of the manor began to decay. 

In Alfred’s surprise and arousal, he nearly missed catching Kiku as he darted away again.

Alfred grabbed him by the arm, but the house continued to fade, and the food rotted on the table. As Alfred snatched the ball from his hand, Kiku snapped his head around to glare. His eyes glinted yellow in the darkness.

Without Kiku holding the ball, their surroundings instantly stopped decaying. 

However, a peculiar haze had begun to take over Alfred’s mind, and pain radiated from within the depths of his body. His vision was blurred as well, and it wasn’t just from the darkness.

“You really are so gullible,” scoffed Kiku. “Did you really believe all that just because I told you it was so? I could tell a man like you anything and you would wag your tail.” 

His attitude had changed from the coy seducer he’d been moments ago. Now he was flustered, almost angry.

“What an embarrassment, to degrade my intelligence and play the slavish damsel for someone as undeserving as you,” he muttered.

Alfred winced. “Why bother?”

“You were wandering alone in an unfamiliar place. You gave the impression of a risk taker. I like gullible, arrogant men. I wanted to play a trick.”

Alfred’s stomach felt like a stone had been dropped into it, and his heartbeat became irregular, in the same visceral fight or flight response as when he had encountered Kiku’s shadow.

“What kind of trick?” he asked. 

Kiku’s mouth curled into a smirk, his pointed teeth flashing in the moonlight.

“What kind of trick?” he mused, rolling the words over his tongue seductively. “You’ll discover soon enough…”

“What kind of trick?” Alfred asked again, more sharply.

“An illusion, obviously,” Kiku said. “Haven’t you realized? The food and this house are not real.”

The creep of fear sunk its roots into Alfred’s spine. 

“What did I eat, then?” 

“Poison mushrooms,” said Kiku, so matter-of-factly that Alfred was gripped with fear. 

“ _ What?” _

“You’ll die soon,” said Kiku. His eyes shone with mirth. “Perhaps seducing you wasn’t totally unpleasant. It was rather fun to watch you eat every bite like it was something delicious.”

Alfred hoped he was joking, even as his mouth became dry, and pain ran more sharply through his body. 

“Why the hell would you do that?” he asked.

“You’re a foreign trespasser doing as he pleases. I despise that sort of arrogance,” said Kiku, narrowing his eyes.

“I was minding my business until you showed up,” protested Alfred.

“And what do you suppose  _ I _ was doing before you came? Don’t go where you’re not wanted.”

“I’ll go wherever I want,” said Alfred, his anger rising.

“I hate humans like you,” hissed Kiku. “Thinking you have a right to anything you see.”

“You think you have the right to kill me?”

“You’re a fool, trusting me so easily. Don’t think  _ I’m  _ the one that needs to be protected from the dangers of the forest. Anyway, you deserved it. Now give me my ball.”

Alfred held it close to his chest.

“Why would you put your power in this little ball?” he asked. “It could get lost so easily.”

“You ask too many questions, you stupid gaijin.”

“Do your manners degrade without it too?” asked Alfred.

Kiku’s eyes flashed, and his teeth were like needles, set in a snarl. 

“This, from a pervert who tore off my clothes.”

Alfred glanced at his fox ears, then down his body, as Kiku grew more animal-like with every passing minute. 

“At this rate, you won’t need them.”

Kiku lunged at him, and wrestled with his arm.

“Hey! Settle down!” exclaimed Alfred, pulling his tail. 

In response, Kiku jerked forward and sunk his teeth into his neck.

“Ow! You savage little—!”

Alfred pulled back, with bleeding punctures in his skin.

Kiku took a moment to lick the blood from his lips. It had smeared down his chin as well. He’d bitten him so deeply, Alfred could feel a warm trickle of blood soaking into his collar.

Before Alfred could recover, Kiku lunged again.

He unbalanced him and they landed hard on the floor.

Kiku went for his throat once more, but Alfred managed to grab him by the neck. This did not come without a fight from Kiku, who clawed and snapped at him. Alfred rolled him over and held him by his slender throat, squeezing until Kiku relented with a whine. 

“The ball is my soul,” Kiku choked. “Not just my power.”

Alfred loosened his grip and Kiku took a sharp, relieved gasp of air. His whole body arched against Alfred’s before he relaxed, his breath hot against his cheek.

“I should tear your throat out,” he hissed, showing his crimson stained teeth. Alfred had no doubt he would. 

“Save my life,” demanded Alfred, his voice a croak. Blood from his wound steadily dripped on the tatami next to Kiku’s head. “You have that power, don’t you?”

Kiku laughed. “I’ll bide my time. The illusion will wear away soon, along with my disguise. And your life will be over. And I can take the ball back.”

Making a quick decision, Alfred took him by the collar and hauled him up. 

He couldn’t waste any more time.

He dragged him out of the manor and down to the nearby river. Kiku struggled all the way, but could not manage to break free. 

Water rushed loudly, and Alfred’s shoes slipped in the mud by the riverbank. They approached the roiling stream. Alfred took the ball out of his pocket and dangled it over the water. Immediately, Kiku’s ears perked, and he lunged to stop him. Alfred held him back.

“I’ll drop it in,” he threatened. “And then what’ll you do? You’ll just be a normal fox.”

Kiku glared, a sour, hateful expression, full of darkness and rage.

“How dare you threaten such a thing,” he said. “A mere human...”

“If I die… I’ll fall in with it,” said Alfred.

Kiku stared him down for a moment.

Then he placed his palm on Alfred’s chest. Alfred gasped in surprise.

Almost immediately, the pain went away, and his vision returned to normal.

“Now give it back,” demanded Kiku, turning out his palm. “You’ve already wasted enough of my night.”

Tentatively, Alfred handed it back. Kiku snatched it up. 

“You’ve truly tempted my wrath,” he hissed. “Consider yourself lucky if nothing horrible happens in the near future.”

Alfred shrugged. “You get what you give.”

“I owe nothing to a human. Don’t apply your rules to me.”

“Stop playing tricks on unsuspecting people.”

Kiku stared at him like he was an idiot.

“Never,” he said. 

Then, to Alfred’s confusion, he opened his mouth and placed the ball between his teeth.

With a  _ pop  _ and a silvery quivering in the air, he shed his human form. He shrunk, sprouting white fur, and his nose elongated into a snout. He dropped on all fours, his hands and feet now dainty, white fox paws.

He looked annoyed, as much as a fox could, before he left, darting into the forest with a flick of his tail.

With his transformation, the edges of the manor began to warp and shimmer, as the rest of the illusion faded before Alfred’s eyes, and with it, the light.

Alfred was left standing in the dark forest in a patch of wet grass, with nothing but a pile of dead leaves and mushrooms where the feast had been. He swallowed. His mouth tasted bitter, like soil. 

He turned, and turned again, trying to locate the path. There was nothing but dense forest in all directions. He was more lost than ever.

With a sigh, he sunk to the base of a tree to rest and wait for daylight.


End file.
